Is Claude Giroux The Best Player in the NHL

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NY Rangers for taking Bobby Sanguinetti one pick ahead of the Flyers in the 2006 Entry draft. it was no secret that the Flyers wanted Sanguinetti. Instead we got "whats his name?" turned out it worked out pretty well for the Flyers.

If you take the Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkins out of the equation then he has a small chance of maybe being the best one day. Small chance.

I know it may sound crazy to some (though I find it not crazy at all) but I would take Giroux over Ovechkin any day. Ovechkin does not possess Giroux's defense, brain, or vision. Those to me are more important than Ovechkin's advantages. Malkin, it depends on how well Malkin is playing and how well Giroux is playing. Crosby is better than Giroux (and everyone else in the league) 10 days a week. I simply don't see many players making the plays Giroux constantly makes on both ends of the ice. And even though obviously some games are better than others, he is amongst the most consistent players as well.

I think Giroux is one of the 10 best players in the game. People underestimate just how good he really is. Let's not forget that this is a guy who went from winger to center just two years ago. You very seldom hear of wingers turning into centers. To make that kind of transition and to do it rather seamlessly just shows the level of talent that Giroux has. If he were anywhere else but Philadelphia, people would say that Giroux is a top 10. But because he plays for a franchise that has great depth at forward, people will always come up with a reason why he isn't a top 10 player.

I can't believe this post. He is better than 15-20 offensively, and overall, WHY WOULD HE BE LOWER??? He is a 2-way player. He finished high in Selke voting last year and has shown a lot of improvement at both ends this year.

He has had 1 year where he finished 13th in points, and would have been lower if certain players had played more games. That puts him in that 15-20 range.

Also, do you honestly think Selke votes are a good parameter to judge someone's defensive ability? He did also only get 6 votes, most of which were 4th/5th place. He's adequate defensively. He works hard and has good instinct's, but it's difficult to play defense at his size.

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I don't know how you could possibly name 25 better forwards than Claude Giroux.

Giroux has not been a good player for long enough for me to put him into the Top 25 yet. That should end after this season, but as of now he has still only had one good year. I'm sorry if I'm not the type of person that anoints Carter a perennial 40 goal scorer after 1 season, says Ovechkin is gonna be the best goal scorer ever because he hit 60, or calls Crosby a lock for the Hall of Fame at 22.

If you're talking about the best players in the league you have to look at multiple years, and Giroux's track record isn't there yet.

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Originally Posted by Anton 22

I know it may sound crazy to some (though I find it not crazy at all) but I would take Giroux over Ovechkin any day. Ovechkin does not possess Giroux's defense, brain, or vision. Those to me are more important than Ovechkin's advantages. Malkin, it depends on how well Malkin is playing and how well Giroux is playing. Crosby is better than Giroux (and everyone else in the league) 10 days a week. I simply don't see many players making the plays Giroux constantly makes on both ends of the ice. And even though obviously some games are better than others, he is amongst the most consistent players as well.

Is Giroux the best in the league RIGHT NOW. possibly. I certainly don't agree with that list that put him at #25. He's a better player than Toews, who was #9. Better two way player, better point production last year, likely better point production this year.

Toews just has the obligatory stanley cup and the fame of scoring the horrible cup winning goal on a suddenly very very average Leighton.

Is Giroux the best in the league RIGHT NOW. possibly. I certainly don't agree with that list that put him at #25. He's a better player than Toews, who was #9. Better two way player, better point production last year, likely better point production this year.

Toews just has the obligatory stanley cup and the fame of scoring the horrible cup winning goal on a suddenly very very average Leighton.

I was one that took some grief for saying Giroux was a good defensive player last year (or was it 2 years ago?). That said, I do not think he is a Selke candidate at all; not even close really. I also do not think he's bad, or even average. I think he is a good defensive player. Certainly above average, and definitely not a liability. His only issue is a lack of size.

I see Giroux today in the mold of a Backstrom, perhaps one notch below Crosby, Stamkos and the Sedin sisters. I don’t get carried away by his early season goal scoring because his game is mostly predicated on setting up his linemates (which he does that as well as any player in the NHL). Obviously his game does need work on the defensive end as well as in the face-off circle but I think when it is all said and done we could see in the top 5 discussion without question.

Best player in the NHL right now? No. However - I think he has an outside shot at the scoring title this year! I honestly see him at 82 points easily - think he will crack 100.

Assuming he wins or finishes top 5 in scoring this year, and knowing he plays #1 PK and makes everyone he plays with better (How is G working out for ya Scottie), I think next year he is in the conversation.

I think Crosby and Toews are better. Both lead their team to the Stanley Cup as a leader. Giroux can be this kind of leader in the future... Claude Giroux is a franchise player and that's the important for us Flyers fans right now!

Best player in the NHL right now? No. However - I think he has an outside shot at the scoring title this year! I honestly see him at 82 points easily - think he will crack 100.

Assuming he wins or finishes top 5 in scoring this year, and knowing he plays #1 PK and makes everyone he plays with better (How is G working out for ya Scottie), I think next year he is in the conversation.

At 3.5 million.....What a steal

I thought that before he was drafted, but his goal scoring hasn't translated. I think in the 90's is his max unless he has a crazy over his head year as far as goals go, or gets an elite finisher on his line and has 70 assists.

I think he should be a consistent 75-85 point player with, hopefully, 1 or 2 90 point seasons in there.

he's one of the players I respect more in this league and you shouldn't care about labeling him the best or top5 this much. He started this season really well and he is a franchise player and a great first line centre. That's all there is to it and the comparisons with great players imo like Kopitar or Toews are kinda pointless, there isn't just one top class centre out there.

He can crack 100 points at some point of his career, I'd care more about a Cup though. I support the Red Wings and don't really care that Datsyuk's never reached that number.

He has had 1 year where he finished 13th in points, and would have been lower if certain players had played more games. That puts him in that 15-20 range.

Also, do you honestly think Selke votes are a good parameter to judge someone's defensive ability? He did also only get 6 votes, most of which were 4th/5th place. He's adequate defensively. He works hard and has good instinct's, but it's difficult to play defense at his size.

Giroux has not been a good player for long enough for me to put him into the Top 25 yet. That should end after this season, but as of now he has still only had one good year. I'm sorry if I'm not the type of person that anoints Carter a perennial 40 goal scorer after 1 season, says Ovechkin is gonna be the best goal scorer ever because he hit 60, or calls Crosby a lock for the Hall of Fame at 22.

If you're talking about the best players in the league you have to look at multiple years, and Giroux's track record isn't there yet.

Well if you aren't willing to look at only 1 year, then certainly it's impossible to rate him anywhere near the top of the league. But I personally don't see a reason why I can't judge players based off of what I've seen, so listing him that low seems absurd to me. Most of the players who score more points than him are also worse defensively, by the way. That's why I don't see why he would be lower overall than just offensively..

And I'm not sure if that last part was meant to be sarcasm, but if not, then I'm glad you agree. I feel like it was sarcasm, but I assure you I've seen both play a ton and full-heartedly believe that Ovechkin is a joke outside of the offensive zone and I do not think he makes his teammates better even if he might inflate their stats.